Theory of JIZAI Body

■Theory of JIZAI Body

“Theory of JIZAI Body” written by Masahiko Inami et al.

The “Inami JIZAI Body Project” is led by Professor Inami, our boss at the University of Tokyo’s Institute for Advanced Study and the co-chairman of the Superhuman Sports Society.

I was drawn in by the self-introductions by young scholars of brain, science, psychology, information engineering, mechanical engineering, information engineering, mechanical engineering, and media design, who gather under the umbrella of body informatics.

In the modern era, technologies of transportation, production, and information have developed. Dr. Inami calls it “de-embodiment” and “liberation” from drudgery.

Yes, and I believe that further development of technology will bring about a “super nothing-to-do society.”

Yet, Dr. Inami says the next step is realizing the “jizai (autonomized) body.”

He says that robots and avatars will be made self-reliant, and that the human body will be turned into a cyborg robot.

The term “autonomization” refers to “the ability of a person to freely handle the expanded capabilities of a machine.”

Those who have seen “MetaLimbs,” which attach a third or fourth arm to the body, will immediately get the idea.

The idea is to extend, distribute, and share such capabilities in both real and virtual space.

Dr. Inami’s project has five research themes.

1. Enhancement of the senses (extrasensory)

2. Enhancement of the physical body (super-body)

3. Design via the separation of body and mind (astral projection/transformation)

4. Alter ego

5. Union of the body

Dr. Inami’s previous books are full of references to science fiction and pop culture, and this publication is a genealogy of his work.

The goal of his project is to establish the basic technology to realize a “digital cyborg,” i.e., “a person who freely manipulates superhuman abilities by freely traversing across physical space and cyberspace.”

The MIT Negroponte “bit and atom combination” will be reincorporated into the body. This is the birth of a “new mankind.”

For this purpose, design via the separation of body and mind (astral projection/transformation) will take place.

The hardware and software of a person are separated and deconstructed layer by layer. 

Then, the outer body will control a robot or avatar as if it was its own; one can wear a machine and feel it as oneself. 

Letting a distant robot avatar take over your actions with automation technology.

Manipulating real robots and virtual avatars back and forth with one’s own self, switching between automatic and manual control.

You will have N bodies in N real + virtual locations.

Dr. Inami explains the “ubiquity of consciousness,” likening it to the ubiquity of machines advocated by Mark Weiser of Xerox, or ubiquitous computing.

The ubiquity of consciousness and the body, or the ubiquity of the self. It stirs the human desire to conquer the earth.

On the other hand, it also scrutinizes the domination and sharing of the self by others.

The “union” of many people into a portable shrine-like structure is also a theme of Dr. Inami’s research.

The possibility of sharing one’s body with others or AI is also being discussed. Experiments are underway in which others can control a robotic arm attached to one’s body.

Extending one’s possessions or body through the process of sharing is also mentioned.

Actions are digitized. Distributed and shares as data. Globally.

The masses could be guided or even controlled and managed by themselves.

Immeasurable impact.

The academic fields appearing this book are mechanical engineering, information engineering, control engineering, brain science, neuroscience, psychology, physiology, and emergency medicine, as well as the aesthetics, ethics, and cultural anthropology of Daisuke Uryu from the University of Tokyo.

Research is the “middle ground,” but additional factors are required. This assumes that social implementation includes the dispersion and sharing of the self, philosophy (what is the self?), economics (output, employment, distribution), and law (freedom of expression and public regulation).

Quite exciting to think about.

It was 20 years ago that I published “Digital Toy Box” after two years of study, research, and interviews at the MIT Media Lab to understand MIT Negroponte’s coupling of bits and atoms.

Dr. Inami’s book is an impactful one. It is sure to motivate you that much more to dive into his theory of the autonomized body.